CONTENTS

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter One: Introduction

The Example of Boulder

How this Book Works

Chapter Two: The Boulder Startup Community

Boulder as a Laboratory

Before the Internet (1970–1994)

Pre-Internet Bubble (1995–2000)

The Collapse of the Internet Bubble (2001–2002)

The Beginning of the Next Wave (2003–2011)

An Outsider’s View of Boulder

Chapter Three: Principles of a Vibrant Startup Community

Historical Frameworks

The Boulder Thesis

Led by Entrepreneurs

Long-Term Commitment

Foster a Philosophy of Inclusiveness

Engage the Entire Entrepreneurial Stack

Chapter Four: Participants in a Startup Community

Entrepreneurs

Government

Universities

Investors

Mentors

Service Providers

Large Companies

The Importance of Both Leaders and Feeders

Chapter Five: Attributes of Leadership in a Startup Community

Be Inclusive

Play a Non-Zero-Sum Game

Be Mentorship Driven

Have Porous Boundaries

Give People Assignments

Experiment and Fail Fast

Chapter Six: Classical Problems

The Patriarch Problem

Complaining About Capital

Being Too Reliant on Government

Making Short-Term Commitments

Having a Bias Against Newcomers

Attempt by a Feeder to Control the Community

Creating Artificial Geographic Boundaries

Playing a Zero-Sum Game

Having a Culture of Risk Aversion

Avoiding People Because of Past Failures

Chapter Seven: Activities and Events

Young Entrepreneurs Organization

Office Hours

Boulder Denver New Tech Meetup

Boulder Open Coffee Club

Startup Weekend

Ignite Boulder

Boulder Beta

Boulder ...

Get Startup Communities: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.